TEHRAN – US prices in May rose at their fastest rate in three years, with inflation climbing to 4.2%, the BBC reported.
The increase, from 3.8% a month earlier, was largely driven by rising energy costs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) said.
It marked the third consecutive monthly rise in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), with households increasingly feeling the strain of the Iran war and its impact on global energy markets.
Higher inflation raises the likelihood of the US Federal Reserve increasing interest rates in a bid to curb spending.
The last time inflation was higher was in April 2023, when the United States was still grappling with the fallout from the energy shock triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Overall energy bills, including gas and electricity, were nearly a quarter higher in May than a year earlier, with petrol accounting for much of the increase.
According to separate figures from motoring group AAA, the average price of a gallon of regular petrol in the United States is currently $4.15, a sharp increase from $2.98 on February 28, when President Donald Trump launched strikes on Iran.
Soon after the conflict began, Iran asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz and restricted vessels affiliated with its adversaries from transiting the strategic waterway.
Since the start of the war, Brent crude has surpassed $110 per barrel on multiple occasions. Gasoline prices has also averaged above $6 per gallon in California. Earlier this month, a Moody’s Analytics study found that the war has cost US households $750 each, or around $100 billion in total.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
